Liu Qingyue’s emotional outburst quickly drew sympathy from the crowd.
Liu Wanwan was completely stunned.
She had expected that after flipping the story, Liu Qingyue would panic—get flustered, lose her words—and be easy to control.
As long as she insisted that Liu Qingyue and Lu Fengting had something going on, people would forget about her situation with Zhou Heshan.
After all, Lu Fengting held a higher rank—people would focus on him longer.
But she never expected this—
Liu Qingyue didn’t argue.
She just… cried.
“My stepmother took my father away from me. I’ve always been alone… so I came all this way to join the army life here…”
She choked on her words, sobbing.
“But who would’ve thought—my stepsister would even steal my fiancé?”
“Why is my life so miserable? Why am I so unlucky?”
“I might as well just throw myself into a river and end it all!”
“If I had known this would happen, I wish the deputy commander hadn’t saved me that day…”
“Now I’m being falsely accused, and even dragged his reputation down… maybe I really should just die…”
Her acting was convincing.
The military wives listening couldn’t help but feel angry—for her.
Many of them had come from rural areas too. They had seen situations like this before:
Stepmothers mistreating stepdaughters, favoring their own children.
But stealing a fiancé too?
That was too much.
They quickly stepped forward to comfort her.
Zhou Heshan, however, looked annoyed.
“Can you stop crying? You’re just trying to gain sympathy by making yourself look pitiful.”
“I never thought you were this kind of person.”
Before he could say more—
a few military wives actually spat in his direction.
“You’re the one who betrayed her, and now you’re trying to twist the story? That’s disgusting!”
“Someone like you shouldn’t even be a deputy battalion commander!”
The crowd’s anger was rising.
Meanwhile, Liu Qingyue sat on the ground, quietly wiping her tears.
At that moment, Lu Fengting stepped forward, standing straight and composed.
“Half a month ago, I was returning from visiting family when I heard someone had fallen into the lake. I jumped in to save her.”
“I didn’t expect it would cause her this much trouble.”
He continued firmly:
“I’ve already said this—your conduct is unacceptable.”
“This matter must be reported to higher authorities.”
“We’ll go together now. I’ll also report everything I’ve done.”
He made it clear—
he wouldn’t protect anyone, and he would tell the full truth.
Hearing this, Zhou Heshan had nothing left to say.
His face darkened as he walked off a few steps, then turned back to take Liu Wanwan with him.
Lu Fengting then turned to Liu Qingyue.
“Miss, come with me. Trust that this will be handled fairly.”
Liu Qingyue stood up and followed.
After a few steps, she turned back toward the military wives who had supported her.
“Thank you, sisters, for speaking up for me.”
She gave them a deep bow—
then hurried to catch up with Lu Fengting.
As she left, the military wives began whispering among themselves.
“This girl is really kind…”
“Polite, pretty… and strong too.”
“What a sad life… She thought she finally found someone she could rely on, but he ended up hurting her the most. That’s just cruel.”
“And that younger sister? She’s no better. She knew her sister was engaged to him, and still went after him!”
“Well… it takes two people. He’s just as guilty.”
“I just hope things turn out okay for her. That girl has already suffered enough…”
The group was then taken to meet the brigade commander.
He had already heard about what happened from his aide and was furious in his office.
“This is a complete mess!” he had said earlier.
Even though they were stationed on an island and somewhat isolated, news like this could still spread—and if it did, it would be embarrassing for everyone.
He had planned to call them in himself, but they showed up first.
“Come in.”
They entered the office and stood in a line.
Liu Wanwan was still sniffling, but Zhou Heshan nudged her, and she quickly stopped crying.
The commander looked at them and said calmly:
“I already have a general idea of what happened. Now I want each of you to explain the situation clearly.”
“Deputy Battalion Commander Zhou, you go first.”
In front of his superior, Zhou Heshan didn’t dare lie outright.
So he told the story—but conveniently left out the part where he and Liu Wanwan got involved first.
Instead, he said:
Liu Wanwan was already pregnant, so he wanted to change the marriage agreement—from Liu Qingyue to Liu Wanwan.
At this point, he insisted the marriage between him and Liu Wanwan had to go forward… especially since there was already a child involved.
After listening, the commander sighed.
“This situation is your fault.”
“You should have been honest with her about the engagement from the beginning.”
Zhou Heshan just pressed his lips together.
(In his mind: Liu Qingyue would never have accepted it anyway.)
The commander then turned to Liu Qingyue.
“I understand what happened.”
“This is mainly his responsibility.”
“So tell me—how do you want this handled?”
He continued:
“There’s already a child involved, so that limits some options.”
“But as long as it doesn’t harm that, I’ll support your decision.”
Liu Qingyue didn’t feel wronged by this.
Honestly, she knew she had caused a scene too—but the commander didn’t blame her. Instead, he asked for her opinion.
That was already fair.
Liu Wanwan wanted to speak up so badly—
but she knew this was the highest-ranking officer there.
If she said the wrong thing, it could affect Zhou Heshan.
So she forced herself to stay quiet… even though it was eating her up inside.
After thinking for a moment, Liu Qingyue lowered her head and spoke softly, her voice trembling:
“I traveled all this way to come here… Everyone back home knows about it.”
“If I go back now, I’ll be laughed at by the whole village.”
Truthfully—she didn’t want to go back.
Facing all the gossip back home would be worse than staying here.
And with the experience from her past life, she knew she wouldn’t make the same mistakes again.
So she looked up and said, almost out of frustration:
“Since you’re asking how to resolve this…”
“Then I want the army to help me settle my future.”
“…Find me a husband.”